RWANDA TEAM STARTS LOCAL NGO

After six fulfilling and successful years working under the mentorship of AoC Founder and Program Director Julie Ghrist, we – the local Rwandan team (Valerie Akuredusenge, Olivier Habimana, Innocent Uwizeye, Eric Mutabazi, and Eusebe Mwizerwa) have decided to carry on AoC conservation and health awareness programs in Musanze District, Northern Province, Rwanda

After six fulfilling and successful years working under the mentorship of Art of Conservation Founder and Program Director Julie Ghrist, we – the local Rwandan team (Valerie Akuredusenge, Olivier Habimana, Innocent Uwizeye, Eric Mutabazi, and Eusebe Mwizerwa) have decided to carry on AoC conservation and health awareness programs in Musanze District, Northern Province, Rwanda. We have officially named our local non-profit – Conservation Heritage – Turambe (CHT). The name was chosen after several round table discussions where all AoC team members and colleagues shared one another’s ideas. It was very important to us that the name carry on the legacy of our beloved mentor Julie Ghrist and so the “naming ceremony” concluded with our Rwandan national team deciding upon Conservation Heritage – Turambe. In Kinyarwanda, Turambe translates as “let us be sustainable” and it is our goal to continue the significant and impactful AoC work that is seen in Rwanda today. After following the Art of Conservation “Code of Conduct” and principles, we understand the significance of sharing, learning and continuing important and inspiring work that has so evidently affected our community and country. Art of Conservation’s work deserves to be perpetuated through our local organization. We owe it to our community and ourselves since we love the work we do!

The key objective of CHT is to continue Art of Conservation’s mission and values, conducting conservation and health programs for local people in communities bordering Volcanoes National Park, home to the Critically Endangered mountain gorilla. We are grateful and proud to have had six years of intensive training, and are excited as Rwandans to promote our very own community-based conservation initiatives. The opportunity to take the reign of the work we have enjoyed and developed with Julie Ghrist brings us great joy and excitement.

We want to continue promoting conservation through education and empowerment within our community. Art will still be one of our great tools for spreading conservation and health messages, and allowing local community members to express themselves and have fun. There will always be a need to support life skills, jobs, conservation awareness and healthy living habits in our community.

We welcome all that share the Art of Conservation and Conservation Heritage – Turambe values and mission to reach out to us and exchange ideas on how to be involved in our work. This page will serve as an informative platform to receive updates on current activities and work until we have our own site.